I often wonder if I am closer to reality simply for being poorer (idea)

In cases of true poverty, reality is supplanted by survival. Your definition of reality, which is quite valid, is based on the agrarian myth and is the antithesis of supermarket oranges-- growing up on the farm and killing our own cows and making our OWN damn shoes. Building some character. It's a hard life, you've got to work for it and fight for it but you always have just enough. Just look at us using all these big liberal-arts words to descibe it.

Last year, I decided to try an experiment. Will I become a better person by being poor? So I told my parents not to pay my tuition, rent, or food. Because I didn't demonstrate any financial need, and my academic scholarships totalled about half tuition, I was left with a bill of about $20,000 a year. So I got a job or two, refused any loans, didn't touch the principal, and tried to be poor.